HTC Touch Diamond vs. iPhone, fight!

Our brethren over at Engadget Chinese had the chance to size-up HTC's new Windows Mobile 6.1 Touch Diamond with Apple's iPhone this morning in Taiwan. We have to admit, HTC's CEO was dead-on when he claimed that the Diamond's "not too big, not too small" after seeing it side-by-side with Microsoft's left-coast nemesis. Hit the read link for bigger pics.

[derF @ May 13th 2008 6:56AM]

Wow, really makes the iphone look like the cow that it is!

[Argot @ May 13th 2008 7:07AM]

Very true.

[bob @ May 13th 2008 7:35AM]

"Wow, really makes the iphone look like the cow that it is!"

they're almost the same size, i think you dont understand perspective.

[fred @ May 13th 2008 7:41AM]

No, bob, it's only fair to use the same language they would use. The iPhone fans dont care if a competing device is only .5mm larger on any given side. If the other phone is fatter, then it's fatter!

We should also refer to the iPhone as "clunky" and "chunky" when compared to the "sleek" and "sexy thin" Diamond. For consistency sake.

[Juice @ May 13th 2008 9:02AM]

It's a great looking phone no doubt but for almost the same overall size you get a much larger and better(debatable) screen on the iPhone... Too much space below the screen on the Diamond.

[Quix @ May 13th 2008 9:28AM]

Yeah, that huge screen on the iPhone is really obscene.

..rolls eyes..

[Bob @ May 13th 2008 9:17AM]

Whoa whoa whoa... What's going on here? Why would Engadget let this new "bob" use the same name as me - Bob - but lowercase...?? Change your display name "little bob", you are making me look bad.

[Greg @ May 13th 2008 9:45AM]

Yeah my opinion of Bob has gone down significantly.

[Surur @ May 13th 2008 9:53AM]

Here's the Google translation

----------------------------------------------------------
This is the contact person compared interface, the screen of diamonds can be said that many gorgeous. Here it into a diamond-interface two years ago I read in the mobius seminars, so Microsoft should be developed together with the htc, but I asked htc personnel, are to remain silent.


Diamond-diamond-shaped patterns on the reverse side is good, thank yeager light of a strong, my iphone already witness. 3.2 megapixel，iphone In addition diamonds for a 3.2 megapixels camera, is also a bar where, iphone can not AF has been the pain of my heart.

This is the above comparison, the performance of the diamond-linked in comparison. 不過鑽石機沒有3.5mm！ But the diamond-not the 3.5 mm headphone jack, really want to Dapi Gu is!

This is the newsletter of the screen, the diamond machine interface is relatively beautiful, good-for-newsletter content "Gone with the Wind", but I personally use the time and try to have a half-day trial did not, but the htc next to me and the media are out of the trial, So his uncle still have to practice the. iphone Iphone personal preference or the bubble dialogue table

This is the interface of music, gorgeous on both sides of the same fluency of the same, sound output, the diamond-Lueshengyichou.

Browser part of the Diamond machine is opera browser, below the arc with the smooth path to zoom in and out of action (in google map on the same feasible), is quite smooth, and the screen still has a "Top" feature Button, the screen can be pulled to the top of the page, which features a full close.single touch， But the diamond-is single touch, the screen needs to point the page point. iphone的multitouch Personally think that this part of the iphone multitouch is still relatively rods.

iphone在Youtube和Google Mapn iphone沒。 There is a comparison screen can not shoot, is the diamond-and iphone in Youtube and Google Map of the special comparative picture, because iphone no way the Internet, where it is a pity.

iphone Fluency of the part of individuals or feel the iphone win, but this is the operating system root of the problem. There is another point I am dissatisfied with is that the diamonds of rotating the screen, really do not have the feeling rotation, which engineers should be able to着墨, no one to make.

windows mobile 24,000 Comparing generally the case, I can not say that the diamond-is the perfect machine, but compared to other windows mobile-based products, this product really has been a leading state, but prices have not been disclosed, only heard about NT The gossip around 24,000 yuan, which has not yet been verified, we all listed in June, and so on!
---------------------------------------------------

BTW, here's a sizeasy comparison.
http://www.sizeasy.com/page/size_comparison/12927-Apple-iPhone-vs-HTC-Diamond

[Justin @ May 13th 2008 11:27AM]

I certainly wouldn't call the iPhone a cow. I'm sure the Diamond will be a very nice phone, but I highly doubt that it will be as easy to use as the iPhone. Just have to wait and see. Also, my old Motorola L6 was much slimmer and smaller overall than my iPhone, plus it did instant messaging and email, and games, but........... do I even need to go any further?

[nxtiak @ May 13th 2008 7:01AM]

But it runs Windows Mobile.... sigh. :(

[Sageco @ May 13th 2008 7:14AM]

Hate windows......love mac os X.....Love Diamond..........conflict!

[Argot @ May 13th 2008 7:40AM]

Yeah, it must really suck to be able to install whatever programs you want.

[frauhottelmann @ May 13th 2008 7:44AM]

Affirmative it really does suck. I really hate all those third party apps on my Vox (WM 6.1)!

[w00t @ May 13th 2008 7:46AM]

Agreed, it's a great phone but I never got on with windows mobile, call me when they've got android on that sucker! :)

[jhoeforth @ May 13th 2008 9:19AM]

@ w00t

Idiot. Read carefully before you agree on something.

[thenetavenger @ May 13th 2008 12:58PM]

Ya, Windows Mobile is so horrible, with all those extra features, and things that make life easier...

Anyone that has had voice dialing (true recognition) on their Windows Mobile or even Motorola Phones for over 4 years now, don't seem to mind.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/voicecommand/tutorials.mspx


•iPhone cute - Apple Marketing Makes it seem cool.

•Windows Mobile - Can be as cute - Easier to use - Even remote desktop into your desktop computer on it and run business applications.


(I am amazed everytime I touch my Bluetooth ear piece and say Dial Grandma and it just works. iPhone users, maybe some day you can do this cool stuff too. When you can use 99% of the features of your phone without looking at the screen, how cute does it have to be again?)

[LordFarkward @ May 13th 2008 7:08AM]

wow... god i LOVE competition. iphone 2'd better be good, REAL good.

man i love being spoilt for (good) choices :)

[Saad Rabia @ May 13th 2008 7:08AM]

The big screen on the iPhone is great for web viewing and watching videos; As all have been saying: iPhone is an iPod with a phone, and it serves its main purpose very well; of course plus many other great uses.

What makes me pick the Diamond is: Windows Mobile. Although the core system is old in style, it is surely powerful and current in tech stuff, I mean, Touch 3D was built all over WinMo and it still is running great! I would love to see some news about any extra software to be produced for the Diamond later on.

At this stage, I will not judge hardware until the 3G iPhone is out.

My wish list: Diamond, Xperia, 3G iPhone.

[Richard Lai @ May 13th 2008 7:10AM]

Ah, same wish list here. The wait for the 3G iPhone is unbearable.

[bob @ May 13th 2008 7:38AM]

i'm afraid winmob is a 10 year old flop based on the flop that is ce. having one OS for desktop and mobile devise is the way forward.

[James @ May 13th 2008 7:52AM]

Bob,

Windows CE is Windows in the same way that OS X for iPhone is OS X for desktop. The APIs for CE are almost identical to Windows Vista and infact Windows CE was created from the Windows codebase 10 years ago.
Plus, do you see Apple offering their compact OSX to device manufacturers? For $3 a unit any manufacturer can create a Windows CE device (and there are lots of different CE devices out there). My SatNav, Phone and Digital Picture Frame are running Windows CE. I do not think you could classify that as a "flop".

[Richard Lai @ May 13th 2008 7:08AM]

I've been waiting for this fight for a loooooong time! :D

[SirSilenceDoGood @ May 13th 2008 10:52AM]

Keep waiting- it isn't fair to compare the iPhone to a brand new phone with over a year to target the current generation iPhone, give it a month and compare it to the 3G iPhone, that way they are on even ground.

[Lazaro @ May 14th 2008 11:03AM]

for some reason when i saw "fight" i was thinking more along the lines of smashing them into one another like hot wheels cars.

[MBS @ May 13th 2008 7:30PM]

@SirSilence: BUT it is completely fair to compare and say how much better the iPhone is to, say, the N95 which is a device several generations older than the iPhone.

[Richard Lai @ May 13th 2008 11:39AM]

I don't understand why some people are saying this is an unfair comparison. It's an ever-changing mobile phone market so such comparison is normal, plus I saw no biased opinions towards the newer phone in the article.

[jaalin @ May 13th 2008 7:09AM]

my major complaint with the iphone is that it's too big... the diamond looks just right

[Information Central @ May 13th 2008 8:01AM]

No. This phone is too small, bringing us right back to the same old problem of pill-sized phones: THE MIC IS NOWHERE NEAR YOUR MOUTH.

If people want a phone with a smaller footprint than the iPhone, it needs to be a clamshell.

And unless this thing has a glass screen like the iPhone, it's worthless; the unprotected screen will simply get scratched up.

[XenoX101 @ May 13th 2008 8:19AM]

Yeah, unless this thing is more similiar to the iPhone, it's worthless!

Wait.. what?

[Argot @ May 13th 2008 8:38AM]

@Information Central:

THERE ARE MICS THAT DON'T HAVE TO BE JUST IN FRONT OF YOUR MOUTH TO PICK UP SOUND.

It's called modern technology.

[Tree @ May 13th 2008 9:02AM]

The technology is called bluetooth headset.

[Phoenix @ May 13th 2008 10:56AM]

It's a tempered glass screen

[Jeff @ May 13th 2008 11:47AM]

@Information Central

Sounds like you're one of those idiots that holds the phone out in front of your mouth when talking because you don't understand that the mic can pick up your voice from *gasp* a few inches away.

What are you, 60?

(I agree with you on the glass part though.)

[Richard Lai @ May 13th 2008 1:36PM]

@Information Central:

The iPhone's mic is not even pointing towards the mouth. Is that the end of the world? Jeez.

[TJ @ May 13th 2008 7:19AM]

Isn't the diamond only 4GB? And people forget that the iPhone has a real iPod built right in. Coupled with iTunes, the iPhone is still ahead of the game.(esp w/3G) You can skin Windows Mobile all you want...underneath the hood, it's still Windows Blowbile.

Ok, I want one too.

[John @ May 13th 2008 7:32AM]

You mean media player software on it... iPod is a marketing term for a media player on a miniature hard drive or SSD with a headphone jack.

[XenoX101 @ May 13th 2008 8:27AM]

If the iPhone has a REAL iPod in it, where is the click wheel?

I'm pretty sure every phone out these days is an "iPod" of sorts. You've just been sucked in by the marketting garbage that the iPhone is 'exclusive' in being an iPod AND a Phone (2 for 1, OMG). Any media player with a reasonable amount of memory is an 'iPod'.

[Rich @ May 13th 2008 9:21AM]

"Real iPod" = generic audio chip found in most PMPs/smartphones

[Scionguy @ May 13th 2008 10:20AM]

4GB on the diamond plus unlimited via micro SD cards. What kind of storage card does the iphone use? Oh that's right.. NONE because Jobs doesn't like his customers to have any control over their own devices.

[chickenator @ May 13th 2008 7:20AM]

where's my meizu??

[Saad Rabia @ May 13th 2008 7:27AM]

Meizu: is the best and most creative idea from Apple to drop windows mobile motivational market right down to earth! [Citation needed]

Forget about Meizu, seriously, it has no chance in front of all the new stuff coming out in less than a month!

[Richard Lai @ May 13th 2008 7:40AM]

Judging from the recent HiPhone lawsuit, I doubt Meizu will have the guts to release anything until their device and GUI look nothing like Apple's.

[Saad Rabia @ May 13th 2008 7:22AM]

I can kind of confirm that it will not be exclusive. Not very sure about the USA, but here in the UAE I called a main HTC dealer and they told me that it is going to be available in shops before the USA, and this is bad news and good news for US people, bad news because it might get out little bit late, and good news because based on what I said it will probably be available in many places in the USA. :)

[fred @ May 13th 2008 7:36AM]

HTC needs only one more thing, and that is an advertising campaign.

The thing all of the others have done wrong is that they will put out a device and then not run a single TV ad touting that it exist.

[TheAxMan @ May 13th 2008 7:46AM]

Dead right! Absolutely dead right.

[r3loaded @ May 13th 2008 8:51AM]

Well they seem quite plucky recently. The website, and press unveiling is a good start, and I've seen bus adverts in London for the HTC Touch Dual. HTC is already marketed quite well through the operator's high street stores too.

All that's needed is a TV ad.

[Dan @ May 13th 2008 6:23PM]

A tv-spot for the Diamond (And the upcoming Raphael) would really give HTC a boost here in the States.

I can only hope the Diamond and Raphael (haven't looked, sorry) sport a 3.5mm audio jack....My Mogul requires an adapter to convert the USB-Mini (USB on a phone is awesome) to 3.5mm....Which isn't bad since I only use it in the car, but it's something that should be built-in.

[bob @ May 13th 2008 7:53AM]

But... Microsoft is on the left coast, too...

[John @ May 13th 2008 7:58AM]

Id hate to tell Engadget this but psst! Microsoft owns a decent size chunk of Apple